Clunbury Climate and Environment Group November 2025 Report

Clunbury Climate and Environment Group

Report to the Parish Council Meeting on 6 November 2025

Whinberry Hill

The fourth in our series of annual drone photos of the site were taken on 22 September. An opportunity to project the photos at a future PC Meeting would be a good way of informing the PC about the work that is taking place on the Parish Land.

Our principal ongoing work is bracken control and the Group would like the Parish Council to submit a grant application for the purchase of scythes. This is the subject of a separate document.

In the order of 15 of the trees or shrubs planted in 2024 as a condition of the licence to fell the conifers round the periphery of the northern end of the Parish Land have succumbed to the summer drought. They will be replaced over the coming winter.

Parish Walk and Ramble

Twelve of us took part in a Parish Walk on 25 October which included Clunbury Hill and Purslow Wood. There will be a Ramble on 6 December during which we will look and discuss hedge management. For details see the Parish Post and What’s On.

Litter Pick

Our first litter pick of the winter will be on Saturday 8 November. We will gather at The 100 House at 10.30 and pick litter along the Clun and Twitchen roads. We will also aim to collect litter along the B4385 from Little Brampton towards Kempton.

Freshwater Pearl Mussels

A number of Group members were in a party that travelled to the River Kent in Cumbria on 21/22 October to visit a project aimed at restoring and reinforcing a population of Freshwater Pearl Mussels. We also visited the Species Recovery Centre beside Windermere where Mussels from the Clun are being breed in captivity. Here a cohort of young Mussels is being nurtured in the hope that one day conditions in the Clun will be good enough to give them a chance of survival if brought back home. It was a fascinating two days and we returned with renewed enthusiasm to work towards the conservation of this remarkable creature.

Next Meeting

Our next Group meeting is on Friday 28 November, 9.45 for 10.00 at Clunbury Village Hall. As always, it is open to all (and the coffee and cake is free). Amongst agenda items will be a discussion of Grant Funding Opportunities including the NatureSave Trust about which the Parish Clerk has alerted us.